New Frontiers in Marine Tourism: Diving Experiences, Sustainability, Management (Advances in Tourism Research) (Advances in Tourism Research)

Diving tourism has seen such growth in the past decade that the World Tourism Organization suggests it will soon become as important as ski tourism. According to a WTO estimate, there are now 5-7 million active certified divers in the world. Despite its development as a mass tourism activity, its dynamic growth and great economic importance, particularly for island destinations in the tropics, surprisingly few scientific publications address this form of special-interest tourism. In the light of this, "New Frontiers in Marine Tourism" is the first attempt to describe and analyse this tourism sector comprehensively. The first part of the book is devoted to an overview of the dive sector, addressing different types of diving locations and their particular characteristics, the geographical distribution of dive locations, the origins of dive tourists, as well as the growth and economic significance of diving tourism in destinations worldwide. In its second section, the book outlines different motivations and typologies of diving tourists, their learning behaviour, knowledge of marine environments, and their interaction with flora and fauna. The third section focuses on diver satisfaction, attitudes and preferences, diver education and interpretation, compliance with regulations by divers and tour operators, environmental impacts, and aspects of risk and health, thus highlighting a variety of pressing topics related to the management of diving tourism. * First book of its kind to address the rapidly growing area of diving tourism * Contributions from academic experts in the field, it addresses hot issues such as environmental impacts, health and safety, eduaction, and economic factors and impacts. * Brilliantly edited, it represents a coherent and cohesive collection of critically important issues in this area. Read more...

Chapter One

Introduction

Brian Garrod and Stefan Gössling

Diving has been a recreational activity for at least 75 years. Sport divers in the Mediterranean, for example, hunted fish by holding their breath as long ago as in the 1930s (Cherry, 1976, quoted in Dimmock, 2007). Basic forms of diving, such as free diving (or 'breath-hold' diving) and snorkelling, require a minimum of equipment, usually including only a mask, snorkel, fins, and some weight. The difference between free diving and snorkelling is that snorkellers remain primarily on the surface of the water, while free divers descend, holding their breath for one or two minutes. In contrast, scuba diving involves portable air supplies to remain underwater for longer periods of time and attain greater depths. Technically speaking, 'scuba' is an acronym (SCUBA), standing for 'self-contained underwater breathing apparatus', although the term is now so well known that it has been received into many languages as a simple noun (hence 'scuba diving', 'scuba equipment', and so on). The earliest prototype scuba-diving equipment, known as the aqua-lung, was developed by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan in the early 1940s. This apparatus, consisting of a diving cylinder containing high-pressure air and a regulator supplying the diver with it at ambient (i.e. reduced) pressure, is still the most commonly used in recreational scuba diving.

There are also a number of new technologies which enable underwater swimming, including rebreathers, which are technically different to scuba equipment in that they enable the user to rebreathe their exhaled air, either in a closed or semi-closed system, rather than for the air they exhale simply to be released into the surrounding water as bubbles (Orams, 1999). There is also 'snuba', a cross between scuba and snorkelling where the participant breathes air from tanks that are attached to a raft on the surface of the water, rather than being strapped to the participant's back. This form of diving is particularly attractive in that it enables the diver to stay underwater for a longer period of time and to descend deeper than a free diver or snorkeller would be able to, yet does not require the formal certification that a scuba diver would normally require (Garrod & Wilson, 2003). Other new technologies include the DPV (diver propulsion vehicle), or 'scooter', and the 'sled', which is pulled along the surface of the water by a boat. Divers hang on to such devices, enabling them to travel faster and thus further underwater.

Many divers dive simply for the fun of it, to enjoy the freedom of being underwater, to view the splendour of the underwater environment, to socialise with other participants and to tell their tales afterwards. This type of diver can conveniently be termed 'recreational divers' (Photo 1.1). However, there are also a number of distinct diving specialisms. These include various forms of technical diving (diving in challenging environments such as cave diving, wall diving, wreck diving, altitude diving, ice diving, night diving and drift diving); underwater photography and videography; diving with marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions; undertaking underwater biological, geological or archaeological surveys; underwater rescue and many others. Some writers consider technical diving to represent a subset of recreational diving, while others separate the two because of the greater demands in terms of the knowledge, skills, equipment and physical exertion required of technical divers. Any of these diving specialisms may involve one or more of the diving formats noted above. Thus, for example, while swimming with marine mammals is something that is often restricted by law to free divers and snorkellers, in some countries scuba divers are also permitted to swim with marine mammals.

Defining Diving Tourism

Defining diving tourism is not entirely a straightforward task. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) defines scuba-diving tourism as comprising "persons travelling to destinations with the main purpose of their trip being to partake in scuba diving. The attraction of the destination is almost exclusively related to its dive quality rather than any other factor, such as the quality of accommodation or land-based attractions" (WTO, 2001, p. 85). However, it might well be argued that this definition raises more issues than it clarifies. Theobald (2005) argues that definitions of tourism usually seek to serve one or both of two rather different purposes. The first is to serve as a conceptual definition, the function of this being to distinguish clearly between those individuals who may be described as tourists and those who may not. This is to enable meaningful theories to be developed and tested regarding such issues as tourists' motivations, preferences and chosen activities. The second type of tourism definition is a technical definition, the purpose of these being to distinguish efficiently between tourists and non-tourist so that data on tourists may be collected for statistical, legislative purposes. In the case of diving tourism, the task of either type of definition is rather more complex, since such definitions must distinguish between four groups of individuals: diving tourists, divers who are not tourists, tourists who are not divers, and those who are neither tourists nor divers. The principle is nevertheless the same: to be practically useful, any definition of diving tourism will need to be able to distinguish effectively between those individuals who can be said to count as diving tourists and those who cannot.

There are, moreover, a number of complications in defining diving tourism, and considering these can shed some light on the adequacy of the WTO definition given above. Firstly, the degree to which going diving forms part of an individual's travel motivation tends to vary considerably, with on one end of the scale the dedicated diving tourist who will make their choice of holiday timing and destination based very largely on the quality of the diving to be found at that time of the year in that particular diving location. On the other end of the scale will be the occasional diver, for whom the timing of their holiday and choice of tourism destination will have little to do with the availability of opportunities to dive, let alone the quality of diving to be found at the destination at that particular time of the year. Furthermore, while the former group of diving tourists may intend to dive every day (perhaps even twice daily), those in the latter group may intend to dive only when diving conditions are particularly favourable or when they have no other leisure activities planned for the day. This latter group has been termed 'sideliner divers' by the WTO (2001) and 'resort divers' by Davis and Tisdell (1995). However, it is clear from the WTO definition given above that such individuals would not strictly be considered to be diving tourists, since scuba diving is not their prime motivation for taking the holiday.

Secondly, diving is clearly not an activity that is undertaken exclusively by tourists. Certainly it is true that modern international tourism and the recreational sport of scuba diving both have their origins in the period immediately following the Second World War. It is also true that both activities witnessed a considerable and unabated growth in popularity over the second half of the twentieth century. Indisputably, the growth of international tourism has played an important role in increasing the popularity of diving, enabling enthusiasts to partake in their sport in a wider range of locations and times of the year than would be possible if they were restricted to diving in their home locality. Indeed, many divers reside in the northern hemisphere developed countries, over one-third being European (WTO, 2001). Many are also from the United States. Meanwhile the majority of 'world-class' diving locations are in the tropical regions, particularly where coral reefs are to be found. International travel is hence very much a part of the way in which divers tend to access their recreational opportunities. Yet, as the WTO (2001) acknowledges, only one in three scuba divers regularly take an overseas diving holiday. The remainder dive either close to home, on the basis of a day trip, or else travel further within their own country to go diving, over a period of more than one day. The latter can confidently be described as diving tourists, since they are travelling away from their place of residence in order to undertake diving activities. The former group should not, however, be overlooked in any analysis of diving as a form of recreational leisure activity. Indeed, the volume and value of such activities worldwide is not well known in either case, owing to a severe paucity of data on diving activities in general, and dive tourism in particular. Information at the national, regional and local levels is at best only patchy. It may therefore be that these activities are substantially more significant than international diving tourism, about which the data are rather better (although still inadequate) and slightly more is known.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, diving tourists are not just interested in scuba diving. As we have seen in the previous section, a number of other important diving formats exist, including free diving (Photo 1.2), snorkelling, snuba and the use of rebreathers. While there are many specialists, who like to participate in just one of these diving formats, there are also a good many generalists. An individual may thus go scuba diving on one day of their holidays and snorkelling on the following day, or scuba dive in the mornings but go free diving in the afternoons. The same may be observed in terms of the diving formats an individual chooses over their diving 'career'. Thus, for example, an individual diver may get into the sport at a young age through snorkelling, perhaps while they are on a family holiday, and then take up scuba diving once they have the personal finances needed to acquire the necessary certification and buy some diving equipment.

In view of the foregoing discussion, the following conceptual definition of diving tourism is offered:

Diving tourism involves individuals travelling from their usual place of residence, spending at least one night away, and actively participating in one or more diving activities, such as scuba diving, snorkelling, snuba or the use of rebreathing apparatus.

Unlike the WTO definition given above, the definition offered here does not require diving to be the main motivation for their trip; nor does it require them to participate specifically in scuba diving. On the other hand, the definition offered here does require travellers to spend at least one night away from home, thus ensuring that they are genuinely tourists rather than 'day visitors'. It should be noted, however, that this does not imply that they should undertake international travel. Indeed, domestic diving tourism is entirely possible under this definition.

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Excerpted from NEW FRONTIERS IN MARINE TOURISM: DIVING EXPERIENCES, SUSTAINABILITY, MANAGEMENT Copyright © 2008 by Elsevier Ltd. . Excerpted by permission of ELSEVIER. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. Content: Copyright , Page iv Contributors , Pages xv-xvii Preface , Pages xix-xxi , Brian Garrod, Stefan Gössling Chapter 1 - Introduction , Pages 3-28 , Brian Garrod, Stefan Gössling Chapter 2 - Market Segments and Tourist Typologies for Diving Tourism , Pages 31-47 , Brian Garrod Chapter 3 - Perceptions of and Interactions with Marine Environments: Diving Attractions from Great Whites to Pygmy Seahorses , Pages 49-64 , Carl Cater Chapter 4 - Diving and Global Environmental Change: A Mauritius Case Study , Pages 67-92 , Stefan Gössling, Olof Lindén, Jayne Helmersson, Jeanette Liljenberg, Serwa Quarm Chapter 5 - Vulnerability of Marine Mammals to Diving Tourism Activities , Pages 93-113 , Susanna Curtin, Brian Garrod Chapter 6 - Environmental Management and Education: The Case of PADI , Pages 115-136 , Anna Lindgren, Jessica Palmlund, Ida Wate, Stefan Gössling Chapter 7 - Dive Tourism, Sustainable Tourism and Social Responsibility: A Growing Agenda , Pages 139-152 , Claudia Townsend Chapter 8 - Diverting Pressure from Coral Reefs: Artificial Underwater Parks as a Means of Integrating Development and Reef Conservation , Pages 153-169 , Peter van Treeck, Michael Eisinger Chapter 9 - Attitudes to and Preferences of Divers toward Regulation , Pages 171-187 , Nola Barker, Callum Roberts Chapter 10 - Interpretation and Environmental Education as Conservation Tools , Pages 189-200 , Claudia Townsend Chapter 11 - Managing Risk in Tourist Diving: A Safety-Management Approach , Pages 201-219 , Christopher Coxon, Kay Dimmock, Jeff Wilks Subject Index , Pages 221-226 ‘New Frontiers in Marine Tourism'is the first book of this kind to address and analyse this burgeoning tourism sector comprehensively. By integrating aspects such as the sustainability, safety, education, experiences and management of diving tourism the text highlights a variety of pressing topics related to the management of diving tourism, including:• different types of diving locations and their particular characteristics and the geographical distribution of dive locations• the growth and economic significance of diving tourism in destinations worldwide • different motivations and typologies of diving tourists, their learning behaviour, knowledge of marine environments, and their interaction with flora and fauna.• diver satisfaction, attitudes and preferences, education and interpretation, and compliance with regulations • environmental impacts, and aspects of risk and health. New Frontiers in Marine Tourism is the first book of this kind to address and analyse this burgeoning tourism sector comprehensively. By integrating aspects such as the sustainability, safety, education, experiences and management of diving tourism the text highlights a variety of pressing topics related to the management of diving tourism, * different types of diving locations and their particular characteristics and the geographical distribution of dive locations * the growth and economic significance of diving tourism in destinations worldwide * different motivations and typologies of diving tourists, their learning behaviour, knowledge of marine environments, and their interaction with flora and fauna. * diver satisfaction, attitudes and preferences, education and interpretation, and compliance with regulations * environmental impacts, and aspects of risk and health. "Diving tourism has seen such growth in the past decade that the World Tourism Organization suggests it will soon become as important as ski tourism. According to a WTO estimate, there are now 5-7 million active certified divers in the world. Despite its development as a mass tourism activity, its dynamic growth and great economic importance, particularly for island destinations in the tropics, surprisingly few scientific publications address this form of special-interest tourism." "New Frontiers in Marine Tourism represents the first attempt to address these issues in a comprehensive way. It brings together authorities across a number of fields of study in order to provide a state-of-the-art review that will be relevant to the needs of students, academics, planners, policy-makers and the diving industry."--Jacket